Changing the world

On 20 Somethings, Mentors, and Changing the World

There’s an entire generation of us out there lost and looking for a community.

We are Generation Y, the Millennial generation, 20 somethings seeking out the meaning of life.

Growing up we were promised the world, and when that didn’t happen after we graduated college (or high school), we didn’t know what to do.

We knew we were meant for more than making copies and becoming a whiz at Excel spreadsheets – the main requirement of any internship or entry level job.

Fighting for our livelihoods

We are not willing to stand by and watch our lives waste away as we do what we are told and put our time in, climbing the corporate ladder until one day, when we’re 50, we’re finally on top.

In fact, while most of us start out with a “real job” to pay the bills, we quickly realize we’re meant for so much more.

But because of our age, no one takes us very seriously. Most people think our generation is greedy and impatient (and it’s true, at times), and think we need to pay our dues, just like all generations before us were required to do.

But in our hearts, we know the world is changing. We know we don’t have any time to waste. We need to do meaningful work now, before it’s too late.

But to do that, we need someone to show us the way. We need someone to believe in us. To keep us on track to doing the great work we’re meant to be doing.

We need to be mentored.

My last mentor was my high school English teacher and basketball coach, Mr. Farland.

He encouraged me to be a better writer, a better athlete, a better person. I always tried a little harder when I knew he would be around. I knew he’d lend me support and encouragement, even when I went through a rebellion phase and died my hair pink and dated the dumb skater guy in hopes of running away from my obedient, smart kid reputation.

Mr. Farland affected me more than any book ever could.

Mentors change lives. They change the world.

Will you be our mentor?

For more on this subject, check out Kyle Reed’s post on mentors and submit a video to his cause.

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Filed Under: Changing the world, Twenty somethings

This Year’s Top Five Inspirational Books For Your Summer Reading List

By kristastryker

Now that the weather is scorching hot (seriously, fellow East Coasters, what happened to spring?), we all could use some new reading material. Here are my top five books from the first half of 2011 that will inspire you as you huddle by your air conditioner this summer:

1. Poke the Box by Seth Godin

Seth Godin has incited a following (or Tribe, as you might know it as…) for a reason: he’s incredibly inspiring. His latest book, published under his new experimental publishing platform, The Domino Project, falls nicely into this category of inspiration.

Poke the Box is a quick read packed full of ideas about how to stop asking for permission and just do. It will call you to action and encourage you to take initiative.

So shake up your life and read it!

2. Do the Work by Steven Pressfield

Do the Work is Steven Pressfield’s followup to The War of Art, the book where the thought-provoking author introduces the concept of Resistance to the world.

This new manifesto is designed to take you through a project from A to Z, helping you work through the entire process of its creation – from the inevitable sticking points in the middle to the fear-inducing shipping point at the end.

Do the Work will inspire you to not only do your real work, but to finish and ship it as well.

3. Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination by Hugh MacLeod

I love this book. Read it. Enough said.

Just kidding. I’ll give you a little more information – but I do just absolutely love Evil Plans.
For one thing, the title rocks.

And the book itself is incredibly inspiring. It introduces the idea that everybody needs an EVIL PLAN to get away from boring, dead-end jobs they hate, and to start doing something they love.

Evil Plans will inspire you to do something that matters – and to have fun along the way.

4. Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki

For anyone interested in business (and we all should be – who really wants to be a starving artist?), the newest book by Apple’s former chief evangelist is a must-read.

The book outlines Kawasaki’s method of how to enchant and draw customers into your business by using technology, and emphasizes trust and likability as key points on the road to success.

Whether you’re part of a small business, an artist or entrepreneur, Kawasaki’s art of how to influence others is a fascinating, inspiring read.

5. Bossypants by Tina Fey

Yes, I realize this book doesn’t fit in exactly the same category as the others. It’s not a self help-book, and won’t tell you what to do to change your life. But the 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live star is insanely funny, and hey, everyone needs a good laugh sometimes.

Plus, Tina Fey’s story is incredibly inspiring – being a woman comic takes balls (chuckle), and she’s got ‘em. While you may not be itching to become a comedian superstar anytime soon, her life may just infuse you with so much warmth and fuzziness that you become motivated enough to do what you were always meant to do in this world.

Filed Under: Changing the world, Recommendations

Become a Creative Doer, Not Thinker

By kristastryker

Everyone loves a great beginning.

At the beginning of a new diet, it’s easy to be motivated (not so much so after a few weeks).

At the beginning of a new relationship, both people easily look over one another’s faults, spending their energy instead on the intoxicating feeling of new love.

At the beginning of a road trip, driving sounds fun (not so true by the end).

Let’s face it: beginnings are exciting.

And the conception of a new idea is one of the most exhilarating beginnings of all.

But when it comes to ideas, not only is it important to be passionate and motivated at the start, it’s crucial to stay enthused throughout the process of making the idea happen, or you’ll risk turning into a thinker, not a doer.

Committing to an idea

When creative people first conceive a new idea, the idea is treated as if it’s the most brilliant, exciting thing ever dreamed up. As someone with an idea, if you’re really passionate about it, you may find yourself jumping up and down, telling all your friends and family, and becoming obsessed with the idea. It’s going to be the greatest business/book/website/product ever, you’ll tell yourself.

But as the reality of actually doing the idea sets in, your enthusiasm will most likely fade.

You’ll realize it’s going to take a lot of work. It may also take time, and money, and make your friends and family mad at you because you no longer are focused on them, and take away any social life that you previously had.

In fact, after giving it a lot of thought and maybe even trying out the beginning stages of creating your idea, you may start to doubt that this idea was ever that good in the first place.

If you’re a freelancer, or thinking up a project outside of your normal workplace, you’ll become highly aware of the fact that you are trying to tackle this idea on your own, with no one to be accountable to, no one to tell you what to do, and worst of all, no outside support. You may suddenly realize what you hadn’t fully thought of before: it’s all on you to complete this idea.

As if all that isn’t enough, you’ll also become hit with the reality that this idea, if you actually try and do it, will take over your life, leaving you no room to tackle any other brilliant ideas that may come your way. Everything else will be put on the back burner – this idea, if you make it happen, has the potential to take up months, years, even decades of your life. (Whoa!)

Facing Resistance head on

The actuality of completing an idea and all the work that you’ll need to put into its creation is scary enough in itself, and Resistance doesn’t make it any easier.

Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art, explains Resistance as the negative force that keeps you from doing your real work.

Resistance will undoubtedly show itself differently to different people, but here are some of the ways Resistance may show up when you try to make your idea happen:

You may all of a sudden think you’re not a good enough writer/artist/musician/businessperson to complete your idea
You may be so obsessed with being “perfect” that you never actually ship your idea to the world
You may encounter writer’s block (if you’re a blogger, novelist, etc.) or a block in your creativity
You may become deathly afraid of failure
You may become deathly afraid of success

Resistance can show its head in countless other ways, but it always acts as a form of doubt – the voice inside your head that tells you that you can’t do something.

Don’t let Resistance steal your dreams

Don’t give into the Resistance. Yes, attempting your idea will take a lot of work, time and maybe even money, but if you’re really passionate about it, if you really believe in it – it will all be worth it in the end, I promise.

Don’t think. Do.

The world needs you to make your idea happen!

Filed Under: Changing the world, Creativity, Resistance

Why you Should Stop Focusing on Being Original

By kristastryker

Most of us assume that all the great ideas in the world came from brilliant thinkers who had only original ideas.

This is intimidating. It means that the rest of us need to use our average minds to come up with an equally dazzling idea that no one has ever thought of before.

But this way of thinking stops any of us from even trying. It’s too big. Too scary. Too impossible.

Pablo Picasso famously said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”

It’s okay to take ideas from other sources. Pick out things from movies you love, books you’ve read, other people you’ve talked to and put it all together to make your own creation. It will be original because of the way you put it together, not because the idea itself never existed before.

After all, Apple didn’t actually invent the computer, they just made it better.

Filed Under: Changing the world, Habits, Personal growth

Learning to Fail, One Step at a Time

By kristastryker

I moved to Amsterdam three years ago full of dreams of how I would spend my time there, yet it took only a year of constant failure to make me feel like a worthless human being.

I had certainly run into my fair share of bad luck. My husband worked for Nike at the time, and we moved over there thinking I’d have no problem getting a job (a bright young college graduate with exciting ideas – who wouldn’t want to hire me?). But I had plenty of factors going against me:

The recession had just hit the US and was quickly radiating to the rest of the world, including Europe.
I didn’t speak Dutch (this turned out to be a much bigger issue than I’d thought)
Being a relatively recent college graduate, I didn’t have the mandatory 3-5 years of experience required by most of the companies there.
I didn’t have an area of “specialty.”

Combine these external factors with the reality that I didn’t know what the hell I actually wanted to do with my life, and it’s pretty obvious why I may have had a lot of failed attempts.

Try and try again

Though I had been a journalist before moving to the Netherlands, I realized pretty quickly after moving that I would have to be open to different opportunities.

So I tried getting a job at my husband’s company. No dice (not enough experience/no specialty).

I tried working as an English-language correspondent for a Dutch newspaper. They told me I needed to learn to read Dutch better – though I thought I could do the job just fine using a dictionary and Google translate (if you’re wondering, I did take Dutch lessons, but it is not an easy/desirable language to learn).

I got my personal training certification and tried working at a gym just to have something to do. Again, not enough Dutch (mind you, every Dutch person can speak English, they are just stubborn about it because they know Dutch is a dying language).

I applied to every job I could think of with no luck. Eventually I just gave up.

Learning to fail

Giving up was the worst thing I could have done. It made me lose my hope and my passion for life. It made me think that I was worthless, that I used to be smart/interesting/ambitious/creative but that somewhere along the line I’d made a wrong decision and there was nothing I could do about it. I was doomed to live an unfulfilling life. In short, I was screwed.

But of course I was having a tough time. I was living in a foreign country where I had no contacts, resources or people to help me. I missed my family. I was lonely. The worst recession since the Great Depression had hit just as I had graduated college. It was a tough time for a lot of people. It still is.

Things gradually started to pick up for me, but only after I started accepting the following:

That I never want a real job (I define a real job as a 9 to 5 job at some sort of company or corporation, involving lack of freedom, creativity etc., but feel free to add your own interpretations).
That I actually am a creative person, and I do have something to say and contribute to the world.
That I haven’t chosen the easiest path, but ultimately it will be the most fulfilling.

Everyone fails. The key to success is to keep trying and to learn from your mistakes.

I know I’ll get it right eventually.

Filed Under: Changing the world, Personal growth, Self doubt, Writing

On 20 Somethings, Mentors, and Changing the World

Fighting for our livelihoods